Major Vitamin D Deficiency

I know this subject has been brought up before, but I was wondering if anyone has a clue as to what causes this Vit. D deficiency. I spend supple time in the sun, and eat fish occasionally, but my doc. told me this weekend that my vit d level was at 6. I was put on 50,000 iu twice a week, plus 500 daily through otc tablets.

My biggest worry is not I have the deficiency so much as why do I have this? Why can my body not regulate the vitamin d I should be getting from the sun? Is there an underlying illness here? Has anyone else experienced this deficiency for no apparent reason?

- If you have dark coloured skin, that acts as a sunscreen, and, therefore, reduces the amount of vitamin D your body can absorb. The darker your skin, the more of a problem this is.

- Age is a huge factor. An older person doesn't make vitamin D at the same rate that a younger person's body does.

- Do you wear sun screen? During the late spring and summer months you need to get approximately 10 to 15 minutes of early afternoon sun three or four times per week on your un-SPFed body (protect your face and hands with sunscreen though as these show aging much more quickly than the rest of the body).

- Do you live north of Atlanta, GA? If so, then during the fall and winter months it is impossible to get enough sun to make vitamin D. You could stand outside all day, naked, and still wouldn't get enough sun.

Unfortunately, no to all of those options which would be most normal.
I have fair skin, I am 18, I do not wear sun screen ever (my skin cannot tolerate chemicals) And I live in Colorado where the sun shines 300 days a year at an altitude that actually allows more UV rays and Vit. D than most places in the US.

The only other option is some other illness it appears. Although I have no digestive problems at all (one of the lucky few). The rest of my bloodwork is normal (as it always is).

Thanks for all the help. Any other opinions or thoughts welcome.

Morgan
[This Message was Edited on 01/23/2009]
[This Message was Edited on 01/23/2009]

I do live in IL, so the winter months are bad, but when my blood work showed low Vit D, it was early fall....the amount the body produces and take in actually takes about 3 months to show up, so after spending a ton of time in the sun w/o sunscreen all summer, my levels should have been good...and I have light skin, too, eat a lot of fish, etc. I still have no idea why my levels were low.